To operate a paint robot or the like, the operator holds a paint gun, teaches the required movements of the gun to the robot, and causes the robot to store the taught movements and to carry out the painting process in accordance with those stored movements. During the teaching operation, vectors of force are detected by a force sensor attached to the distal end of a robot arm, and are decoded by a control apparatus, which then causes the robot to act in the directions of the vectors.
In this system, however, since the robot is controlled by the control apparatus, an incorrect operation by the operator or a malfunction of the robot control apparatus may place the operator in danger, despite the low speed of the operation.
Further, since the robot is operated in the directions of the vectors of force detected as described above, the reactions of the robot during the operation are very slow, and thus a delicate positioning movement and accurate teaching are difficult.